Matthew Short - Director

What is one of your favorite memories?   I am always inspired artistically by the environments within which I find myself. One of my favourite memories is walking along the River Sid in my hometown of Sidmouth and managing to spot two wild river otters playing in the downstream rush. I stood by and watched them for a good five minutes which was a magical moment that has stayed with me and found its way into my own artmaking.

Describe yourself in max three words.   Gentle, pink, and bookish.

What is a sound you love?   Songbirds' dawn chorus.

Who was your hero when you were a child?   Kitty Pryde/Shadowcat from X-Men.

You are an artist because….  It feels right. I have stories to tell and the drive to tell them, and art is the vehicle in which I can do so.

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Matthew Short is a British director, writer, and dramaturg working in Skåne, Halland (Sweden) and Devon (UK). He graduated from the University in York in Writing, Directing, and Performance, and has since been practicing his creative craft and theatre skills with Teater Dictat in Sweden. With his masters in Applied Cultural Analysis from Lund University, his work bridges the gap between creative expression and cultural examination. Matthew has previously worked as a dramaturg with Teater Dictat on queer adaptations of Shakespeare, such as, Hamlet, Prins av DanmarQ and Maqbeth Deluxe. The most recent gay take on the work of Christopher Marlowe is an examination of power, hedonism, and sodomy and the antagonism that they cause. Matthew is currently developing his own original stage play called “Otter Wolf Dart” inspired by three rivers in Devon. The script explores the line between science and magic as the cast of characters try to figure out what to believe in at our time of climate crisis.

“Sunday in Sodom” which is currently performing in Scandinavia was a great opportunity for Matthew to explore gender and womanhood through directing the actors of Playmate Theatre Malmö. His choice to situate the characters in limiting spaces pushed the exploration of isolation and separation in times of war.

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Projects:  

Sunday in Sodom (director)

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Websites:  

 www.matthewsdramaturgy.com

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Photo credits gallery: to be announced

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